Chuck Vs the Lies of Omission
by Afficted
Summary: Part IX in the Postcard series. Roan Montgomery. Stephen Bartowski. Sarah Walker. Who is the greatest liar? Yes, there is angst, I admit it!
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! Remember me? I used to have an ongoing AU S3 arc called Chuck Vs. the Postcard? Well, I'm back after a lengthy absence. I still haven't entirely finished this arc, but with only a couple of chapters left, I feel confident enough to start posting what I DO have. **

**And after that, I've only got one more arc to finish my Season 3. I still want to finish it before the REAL season 3 ends! In case any of you are still watching the actual show and /or are still reading my stuff. What's that I hear? Crickets?**

**Well, my wife and Anon are STILL my editors and STILL doing a great job of it too! **

**And I STILL don't own Chuck, though, I know these days, how many of us really want to? (Well, the money's still good.) **

**Last time I posted an arc, a reader rightfully asked for a summary of what's gone before. So, here I have that summary with an addition added for my more recent arc. (This is only for people who have already read all the previous arcs, and need a reminder of what happened. If any new readers are here, please don't read this sad cliff notes version. Start from the beginning! Much appreciated.) **

**  
Part 1 - Chuck Vs. the Postcard:**

**-Chuck's uploading of the new Intersect wreaks havoc on both his body and his relationship with Sarah.**

**-Sarah requests reassignment, but is turned down by Beckman.**

**- Orion agrees to work again for the government. In return, Beckman provides him a house which he gives to Ellie and Devon.**

**- Roan Montgomery is spying on Beckman for Orion.**

**- Team Bartowski learns that the Ring is purging Fulcrum agents.**

**- Dr. Jill Roberts is saved from Ring assassins by Vincent Smith.**

**- Casey confirms that Chuck's Intersect skills only activate when Sarah is physically threatened. **

**- After an emotional discussion, Chuck and Sarah reconcile and agree to a romantic relationship.**

**Part 2 - Chuck Vs. Interdependence**

**- Ellie and Devon notify Chuck that they are moving. Chuck and Sarah take over the apartment.**

**- Chuck and Sarah discover that all surveillance has been removed from the apartment.**

**- Jill and Vincent are on the run, and plan to take down the Ring. They intend to get help.**

**- Casey has another encounter with his old Sensei, which causes him to reevaluate his working relationships.**

**- Chuck problem-solves how to have safe sex with Sarah.**

**Part 3 - Chuck Vs. Systematic Desensitization:**

**- Casey has a difficult time adjusting to Chuck and Sarah's behavior, or lack thereof.**

**- TB is sent on a mission to steal a cellular phone from a possible ex-Fulcrum agent, requiring Sarah's seduction skills.**

**- Chuck discovers a new Intersect wrinkle which once again threatens his relationship with Sarah.**

**Part 4 - Chuck Vs. the First Handler:**

**-Roan reports to Orion, having spied on TB during Systematic Desensitization.**

**-Orion revisits his past with Bryce Larkin.**

**-Orion finds Bryce's hidden plans to the Intersect 2.0.**

**Part 5 - Chuck Vs. the Child-Proof Safety Locks**

**- Chuck is having difficulty with the concept of killing.**

**- Chuck and Sarah go on a dinner date, followed by mini-golf.**

**- A mission at a Ring Warehouse turns out to be just a test of Chuck engineered by Casey and Beckman. Sarah beats Casey up. Casey insists that Chuck has to take responsibility for his choice to update the Intersect, and all that entails.**

**- Sarah tells Chuck she loves him.**

**- Chuck flashes to protect a mysterious intruder.**

**Part 6 - Sarah Vs. the Best Friend**

**- Sarah must fight to keep her sanity when Morgan returns and moves in with her and Chuck.**

**- Mei Ling Cho requests TB's help in taking down a Triad cell.**

**- Smooth Lau kidnaps Morgan, and Sarah must fight for his life.**

**- Jill and Vincent intervene to save Chuck.**

**- Chuck flashes to save Casey.**

**- A traitor is revealed.**

**Part 7 - Chuck Vs. the Strange Bedfellows**

**- Chuck and Orion have a discussion about Chuck's role in the spy community.**

**- Jill and Vincent break into the home of Ellie and Devon. Ellie is injured. Devon learns that Stephen is more than he seems.**

**- Orion unveils the house's security and captures Jill and Vincent.**

**- Chuck learns of Jill's role in the break-in and shows a new side of his personality.**

**- Orion executes Jill.**

**Part 8 – Chuck Vs. the Ghost**

**- Sarah breaks up with Chuck. For less than two minutes.**

**- Chuck and Sarah decide to move in with Ellie and Devon to protect them. Sarah makes a secret deal with Beckman.**

**- To investigate the home of Jill's parents, Chuck uses the aid of Roan Montgomery to craft the perfect disguise.**

**- Chuck and Casey learn that somebody wasn't as dead as they thought.**

**- Casey has to save Chuck from becoming someone he's not.**

**- Roan Montgomery has some trouble.**

**Wow. We're on page 4, and we STILL haven't started the actual new story. Well, I shall rectify that after just one more thing. Thanks for all of you who have taken the time to read my lengthy storyline. I couldn't do it without you. **

* * *

As Chuck looked at the guns that were pointing at him, he couldn't help but feel somewhat resentful. Not towards the several men holding the guns. By now, Chuck had been held at gunpoint so many times, he had long passed the point of taking such things personally. Besides, the people pointing the guns were honest about their intentions.

Chuck felt righteously pissed, because although his rashness was technically the cause of his current predicament, he strongly felt that he wouldn't have been driven to this mistake if people in his life hadn't kept lying to him.

Whether they told him outright falsehoods, or simply omitted important information, they were still liars.

Based on his odd history in the last few years, Chuck had to ask himself, "_Why have I always been so quick to believe?"_ __________________________________________________________________

"The question is, Chuck, who do you believe?"

Chuck Bartowski looked at Morgan. His formerly-bearded friend was in dire need of a win. Morgan's attempts at blocking the move had failed, and despite Chuck's protestations that they would still have weekly gaming nights and that Sarah would continue to provide Hibachi lessons, Morgan had looked upon the hour separation as a death-knell for his most prized friendship. He seemed desperately depressed.

"Well," said Chuck, "I have to say that I agree with Morgan's belief that the Chorgan Entertainment System would look brilliant under your gigantic HDTV, Ellie." Chuck tried to ignore John Casey in the background, mouthing "Chorgan" with a smirk. For their part, Sarah and Captain Awesome were keeping their faces neutral and their mouths shut.

Ellie, who had posed the question to Chuck, gave her brother an expression which perfectly communicated that he had given the wrong answer. "Mm-hm. And as the person who is giving you a place to stay, I stand by _my_ belief that the Chorgan is an eyesore, and that the men whose names _comprise_ the Chorgan should be thankful that I allow them to ever have a game night in this house. _Ever."_

Behind him, Chuck heard Morgan repeatedly mutter, "Stand up for yourself, Dude. Stand up for yourself, Dude. Stand up for your-"

"Morgan," said Chuck, but he didn't need to say more than that, because Morgan immediately recognized Chuck's surrendering tone, threw his head in his hands, and said, "Aw _MAN_!"

"Look Buddy, Ellie's right. This is her house and we're guests. She has a right to have things her way."

John Casey muttered, "Sister-Whipped," to which both Ellie and Sarah snapped their heads toward the Colonel and simultaneously yelled, "Hey!"

Chuck used the distraction to put his hands on Morgan's shoulders and whisper, "And you can keep the system until our game nights. The only time I'll play with the Chorgan is with you."

Morgan raised his head and said, "Really? Wow, that's generous Chuck, thanks!" He paused, then added, "We really need to change its name though."

Chuck nodded, "Agreed."

* * *

In spite of Morgan's initial failed attempt to sabotage proceedings by trying to break back into the "Morgan Door", the excavation of the former Bartowski apartment in Echo Park went smoothly. With an extra U-Haul and the help of Casey, they were able to transport everything in one run.

Then, after the Chorgan dispute was settled, and the women were done yelling at Casey, a celebratory pizza feast was held. Stephen Bartowski was not in attendance, being called away for some type of business.

"What is your Dad up to these days?" asked Morgan before chomping into the last ham-pineapple slice.

"Oh, who knows?" said Ellie. "I was unclear on what Dad did before he up and left. He's always talking about his tech inventions that were subsequently stolen by Ted Roark. Still, he always managed to keep a roof over our heads when he was around, and he was obviously successful enough to buy us this beautiful house. So, y'know, I'm not complaining."

"Me neither," said Chuck, though he was considerably more curious. Still, his father's business was his own, and Chuck didn't feel like pushing. He just wished that he and Dad had more chance to talk, period. Well, now that they were living on the same property, he'd likely have more opportunity.

Casey's cellular phone rang. He excused himself to take it. When he came back, he was smiling; well, trying to smile anyway. Chuck immediately picked up that something was wrong. Chuck could tell that Sarah had noticed too. In fact, anybody who would have looked closely at Casey could probably tell the smile was forced.

"Uh, believe it or not," said Casey, "that was a call we've been waiting for. A potential contractor from D.C."

Ellie raised her eyebrows. "It's almost 8 p.m. there. On a Saturday."

Chuck stood up and said apologetically, "This particular client tends to work at all hours, and expects his vendors to do the same. I'm sorry, Ellie, but if we're going to have a chance to do this, we should be going to our office, and setting up a conference call."

Ellie shrugged. "Well, if that's what you need to do, go on."

Sarah stood and said, "You guys aren't going to need me for this. I still want to get started on our room before I nod off. I'll see you later?" She walked over and gave Chuck a peck on the lips.

_Thank you, Sarah, _thought Chuck. Having to leave one of them behind to always keep an eye on Ellie and Devon was probably going to become a pain in the ass before long, but Sarah was fully on board. As if he couldn't love her enough already.

After the good-byes and hugs all around, Chuck, Casey, and Morgan piled into the Vic. Because of Morgan's presence, Casey couldn't talk about what was actually the problem. But Chuck could tell that it was something very serious. This was confirmed by the fact that Casey was speeding. He cut down the time in half.

Once Morgan had been seen through his front door, Casey turned his head to Chuck. He wasn't hiding his expression anymore, and what Chuck saw there worried him. "We've got a major problem," said the Colonel.

* * *

45 minutes later, Sarah received a phone call, herself. She turned to Ellie and Devon and said that she was in the mood to take a walk. By herself. She donned a sweatshirt and made her way out the door and two blocks down where she found the van.

When she came inside, she heard them arguing as usual. "They don't tell us until two days after it happened?" yelled Chuck.

"Hard as it may be to believe, Moron, the sun and the NSA don't rise and fall on your ass. They've got all sorts of shit they've gotta deal with."

Sarah cleared her throat. Chuck and Casey both turned to her. Chuck looked anguished. That would be a cause of concern for her, but she was more disturbed by her other partner's expression. Casey looked spooked. Casey _never_ looked spooked.

"What happened?" asked Sarah, a dreadfully bad feeling curling around her.

"General Beckman has been shot," said Casey.

"WHAT? When did this happen?"

"Two days ago!" Chuck almost wailed. "It happened two days ago, and they only called us now!"

Sarah, like Casey, understood that Project Bartowski was hardly the only operation under Beckman's sight, so she wasn't entirely surprised with the delay either, though she certainly understood Chuck's frustration. Sarah turned to Casey. "Is she gone?"

"They wouldn't give me more answers until we were all together. I had to repeatedly explain that we couldn't have the meeting out of Castle." Casey pulled open a laptop, and while tapping some keys, he added, "I don't know exactly who they're going to have talk to us, or how much we can expect to learn."

What appeared to be a clerical staff blinked onto the screen. "Oh! Ah, Major?" she said, glancing at her paperwork. Casey let the error pass. "Colonel Gondel is ready for your team, Sir."

Sarah saw Casey twitch ever so slightly in response to the name. The clerk didn't notice though. A minute later a uniformed man Sarah had never seen materialized on the screen. He looked to be in his late seventies, bald, fairly unremarkable looking. When he saw Casey, this man almost seemed surprised himself.

"Ah! Lieutenant Colonel! Congratulations on your latest promotion!" He smiled widely. Sarah thought that was odd, considering the circumstances of this meeting. "I've been assigned to your team during the General's convalescence."

"Is she going to be OK?" asked Chuck in a rush. Sarah tried not to wince. Beckman had been used to Chuck's lack of professional demeanor when talking to superiors, but others might not be so tolerant. However, this Colonel Gondel didn't seem annoyed. He just seemed to look at Chuck with a curious expression.

"Well, the General made it through surgery, and she's stabilized, but, I'm afraid she's in a coma. The bullet apparently lodged in her neck. Her physicians aren't sure at what point she might awaken, if ever. I'm sure she'd appreciate your concern, Mr..." The man stopped to check his own paperwork, and Sarah felt a wave of discomfort hit her. "Bartowski!" the man said with a smile of triumph. Then he looked over to Sarah. "And you are?"

_Oh no._ "Agent Sarah Walker, Sir, of the Central Intelligence Agency. My agency has lent me out to the NSA for however long this project requires."

Colonel Gondel smiled amiably. "Well, that's nice." Then, he gradually turned his head to gaze on each of them in turn. Sarah looked into his eyes and thought, _This man is either a complete idiot or he's very good at making us think he's an idiot. _

Gondel seemed to shake himself out of his reverie, then said, "Well, from what I've been told, you're all quite capable. We can check in weekly if you need anything, but for now, the directive is to stay the course. Follow General Beckman's most recent orders to a 'T' and you should be fine. Oh, there is the matter of a young man who is going to be visiting with you tomorrow at your Castle headquarters. He's a CIA agent named Wendell Wagner. We're hoping that you might be able to collaborate with him on the matter of the General's shooting, given your recent proximity with the suspect."

_Recent proximity? _"Who is the suspect, Colonel?" asked Casey.

"Ah, well, let's see here." Gondel checked his paperwork again. Then he looked up and almost cheerfully said, "That would be a Mr. Roan Montgomery."

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Chuck yelled. "Roan? They actually suspect Roan?"

"Shut up and let me think, Bartowski." For once, Chuck immediately followed his partner's directive. Casey looked disturbed. Sarah could tell. But she'd bet anything that it wasn't the mention of the suspect that was the cause of Casey's current discomfiture.

"You know him? Gondel?"

Casey's eyes turned to her. He nodded. "Some folks call him 'Goober', because... Well, you could see what he was just acting like."

"Is it an act, Casey?"

Casey paused, considering. "I've dealt with Gondel a couple of times, but I've talked to vets who've constantly worked with him day in and day out for years. If you were to ask them if that was an act, they'd tell you they have no idea."

Casey and Sarah looked at each other silently for a moment, until Chuck asked, "What does that mean, exactly? For us?"

Sarah turned to her boyfriend. She didn't have the heart to tell him. Fortunately, Casey took the task upon himself.

"Beckman had an agenda to be sure, but she usually included at least Walker or I in the picture. There was a fair exchange of information. With Gondel as her stand-in, we've effectively just been notified that we're out of the loop."

Sarah picked up the line of thinking, "Say Gondel is what he appears to be. Then he's a puppet to the people who really know what's going on. They can manipulate us through him, but we don't know who they are or what they're thinking. The other possibility is that Gondel is in on it, and is manipulating us directly. Either way, we're being played."

Casey continued again, "We can't even bring up the Intersect. It's not likely, but it's possible that Beckman kept certain elements of the project to herself, and if she did that, she might have had a reason."

"What," Chuck swallowed. "What reason?" Sarah had a feeling, though, that Chuck knew.

Casey replied, "Maybe she thought some of her colleagues or superiors might be Ring."

Chuck's body slumped. "Great. I don't suppose you two know anybody in the hierarchy that we can absolutely trust?"

Sarah immediately thought of Graham and Bryce. "Nobody living," she said, sadly.

Chuck turned to Casey, his eyes appearing somewhere between desperate and hopeful. Casey immediately shook his head. "A year ago, I never would have thought that Miles or Ty Bennett would have turned." He sounded bitter.

"Well, what _about_ Roan?" asked Chuck. "I mean, if we don't know if we can trust Gondel or the people behind him, isn't it possible that they set Roan up?"

Casey shrugged. "Possible."

"Phew," breathed Chuck.

"But it's also possible Montgomery _is_ a bad guy," said Casey. "I know you like him, Chuck, but you're going to have to get used to an unpleasant fact. "We can't trust _anybody_, now."

"Except each other," Chuck said. When Casey didn't immediately nod, or at least grunt affirmatively, Chuck repeated in strong tones, "Except. Each. Other! Casey, if we're in this situation, we have _got_ to have each other's backs. I know you and Sarah have mine. You know that Sarah and I have yours, right?"

This time, Casey slowly nodded. Chuck released another sigh of relief. "Good. And that includes keeping no secrets from each other. We all have to be on the same page. Everybody cool with that?" Casey nodded again.

Sarah nodded too, but at Chuck's words, she felt ice form in her gut. Chuck looked at her strangely, perhaps sensing her hesitation. She followed-up her nod by saying, "Of course, Chuck," and showing her most confident smile. He seemed to buy it.

"All right," Chuck continued, "So what do we do next?"

Casey's response was immediate. "We follow orders."

Chuck appeared confused. "But I thought you said we couldn't trust-"

"So what?" Casey replied. "How else are we going to figure out what's going on? We can't investigate every superior because they might be Ring. I know your modus operandi is to run" - Casey turned and smirked at Sarah. She gave him a nasty look in return - "but you've seen how far that's gotten you. We can't desert and we can't quit. We follow orders and see where it leads us."

"And what if it leads to a trap?"

Sarah answered that question reluctantly. "Then we spring it."

* * *

That night as she lay in bed, her boyfriend slumbering by her side, Sarah thought about what she hadn't told him.

Beckman's last order.

The General hadn't told Sarah why she wanted Orion tracked. It wasn't for Sarah to ask, just to do. Sarah's assumption had been that Beckman was just being paranoid, uncomfortable with not having Orion under her control. That was all.

But now General Beckman was in a coma. What if… what if the General had actually had a more serious reason for wanting Orion watched? No, that was insane. There was no way that Stephen Bartowski would have had anything to do with this. No reason…

Sarah's eyes wandered to the window of their bedroom on the second floor. If she were to stand up and look through it, she'd be able to see his cottage. Stephen wasn't there right now. Chuck was snoring softly. His arm was slung over her, but very loosely. She could slip out of bed without waking him. She could sneak downstairs, go through the back door, open the lock, and search the room. She'd be back upstairs quickly with Chuck none the wiser.

Sarah thought about what her duty was. She thought about the man she loved and what might happen if he were to learn of her spying on his father.

Stephen wasn't expected to be back for a couple more days. Perhaps, they'd learn something in the meeting with Wagner. Maybe they'd be able to solve this mystery without her having to spy on Orion.

Sarah took Chuck's arm and pulled it more tightly around her. She didn't need to go anywhere tonight. She could afford to wait until tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**All right! We're back. **

**Thanks to my wife and Anon for their editing brilliance.**

**Thanks to all of you readers and especially to you reviewers. (MORE! PLEASE!)**

**Don't own the show.  
**

**On with the fic.**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

"Wendell Wagner. Pleased to meet you both."

Chuck smiled amiably. Casey didn't. Chuck considered elbowing the Colonel in the side and reminding him of proper etiquette, but he didn't think he could pull it off without Wagner noticing.

This wasn't a good way to build a new relationship. Chuck would have much preferred Sarah to have been there for the meeting, given that she and Wagner were both CIA. Casey would have none of it. He insisted on meeting the new contact himself, to size him up. Sarah acquiesced, clearly not wishing to make a fight of it.

Maybe she should have. Between Casey's usual antipathy toward CIA agents, and his apparent new attitude that everybody was suspect, he wasn't bothering to give Wendell Wagner the benefit of the doubt.

Chuck had immediately flashed on meeting Wagner, of course. Wagner was 31. He had spent five years as an analyst before rising to full agent. His evaluations were never less than fine with a commendation here and there. Nothing exceptional. Nothing that stood out as a warning sign.

In spite of Casey muttering under his breath, Chuck provided Wagner with a tour of Castle, after which the three men convened in the meeting room.

"So," began Chuck, "we appreciate you being here to help us out, Agent Wagner. What can you tell us about the General being shot?"

"She was shot at close range with a weapon that Agent Roan Montgomery normally uses. There appears to have been a struggle. The firearm was found at the scene with Agent Montgomery's fingerprints on it. In the room where the shooting occurred was General Beckman's computer which had a photo of Agent Montgomery in what would appear to be an incriminating position. We know that Agent Montgomery and General Beckman were cohabiting. There is also video footage of Agent Montgomery fleeing the scene."

"Oh," said Chuck sadly. "I had… well, I liked Roan. I had kinda hoped that the case against him would be less airtight."

To Chuck's surprise, Wagner began laughing. "C'mon! This is obviously a frame-up!"

"Uhhhh?" grunted both Chuck and Casey simultaneously.

Wagner's smile seemed mischievous. "It all fits together just a bit too neatly, doesn't it? The weapon _with_ fingerprints left on the scene? The incriminating evidence left right there for all to see? The culprit spotted running away? C'mon."

Chuck looked up to see Casey trying to take this all in. The Colonel seemed uncertain. Chuck let out a sigh. This was hopeful. "I guess… it does make you wonder."

"Well, yeah!" crowed Wagner, "And that's not even the biggest piece of evidence to consider."

"Really? What's that?" Chuck leaned forward.

Wagner leaned forward as well, so their faces were less than a foot apart, and said in a voice with utter conviction, "There is simply no way that Agent Roan Montgomery, the greatest spy who ever lived, would _ever_ commit treason against his country."

* * *

Captain Awesome was going to lunch. Usually Devon coordinated breaks so he could be with Ellie, but there were times when their schedules couldn't be reconciled, and this was one of those days

Today, Devon had apparently decided to eat out. Sarah didn't like that. It made her job harder if Devon and Ellie were at different sites. As if the hospital wasn't big enough. Should there be a dual attack; Sarah would have a serious problem.

As it was, when one of the two was on-call, both she and Casey had to put in for watch-duty simultaneously. At least in those cases, Chuck was at home with the other, and all three of the Woodcomb-Bartowksi family could be monitored at the same time. Still, this arrangement wasn't exactly optimal. She wished that she could have been there for the meeting today. What concerned her more, though, was the thought of Chuck continuing to go on dangerous missions with only one of them to watch his back. Yes, his Intersect abilities were arising to protect his partners, but even so, not having the advantage of the full team was a deep concern to her. If something happened…

Devon walked past the parking lot and to "Cheezers" across the street. Not far away from Westside. Good. She wouldn't even have to move her car to be able to see him. Devon walked past a couple of homeless guys who were hanging outside of the sandwich shop, and into the restaurant.

Of course, she couldn't see him in the place, but she normally had only audio surveillance anyway. So it was that she heard Devon say, "Thanks for coming," and a voice she knew respond, "Anything for my son-in-law."

* * *

After they ordered, Devon got into the crux of the matter. "I wanted to have this conversation earlier, Steve, but I didn't want Ellie to know, and I don't usually go to your cottage to just hang out, and chat."

"You're always welcome, Devon, you know that." Stephen looked at Devon's face. He could tell what the young man was thinking. Devon didn't want to visit Stephen. Devon wanted to spend as little time with Stephen as humanly possible. Of course, Devon wouldn't say that. He was a kind man, after all. Stephen decided to let him off the hook. "Go ahead with what you need to say, Son."

"I already had this conversation with Chuck. I was upset, but he convinced me that he had his sister's best interests at heart."

Stephen smiled. "He's a good man."

Devon nodded. "He is. I've known him for years now, and I saw how awesome he was long before I ever knew what he really did. So, I trust him. But Steve…" Here, Devon stopped, his face first appearing troubled, then apologetic.

"You don't trust me," said Stephen, not unkindly.

"I'm sorry, Steve. I just have nothing to go on with you, Man. It seems like your own kids don't even know you."

"That's because I haven't given them the chance." He didn't feign regret. He was long past that.

Devon frowned. "That seems unfair to them _and_ to you."

Stephen nodded. "It's unfair to all of us, but there's a reason I do that. A reason that I abandoned them for ten years. A reason that I came back. I made those decisions to protect my children. Their safety and well-being is my first priority. If I needed to sacrifice myself or leave for another ten years to ensure their protection, I'd do it."

Devon's expression changed to one of alarm. "Steve, please don't think I'm asking you to leave! Chuck and Ellie need you."

Stephen smiled. He truly liked this man his daughter had chosen. "They don't need me, Devon. They have each other to rely on. They have you and Sarah, and they have their friends. Don't worry about chasing me away, though. I have no plans to leave just yet."

Devon breathed out a sigh of relief and Stephen thought, _I still have a task to finish._

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_

"HE'S A ROAN MONTGOMERY FANBOY!!!"

Chuck moaned. At least he'd been able to drag Casey out of the conference room and up to their front office before the Colonel fully exploded. Casey was yelling so loudly though that Chuck thought Wagner might be able to make out the words through reinforced concrete.

"Casey, would you please calm down? Yes, he's enthusiastic."

"He keeps photos of the man in PLASTIC!" Casey hissed.

"Mylar sleeves, actually." Chuck quickly realized that was the wrong thing to say when his partner gave him a look that could dissolve steel. "OK," Chuck said hurriedly, "I will go back down with him, and I'll get all the information. You can wait up here."

"I'm going to do more than wait," growled Casey. "I'm going to call Gondel and tell him that this is a fucking waste of time."

"Now, John, please don't yell or swear at your superior officer," stammered Chuck, before turning and running back downstairs. That would be all they needed: Casey being fired or imprisoned for insubordination.

Casey had a point though. This sure didn't seem like the best way to conduct an investigation. Wagner had precious few details to offer Team Bartowski, it seemed. No ballistics reports on the shooting. No video footage of Roan's escape. They weren't even allowed to see the "incriminating" footage from Beckman's computer. All they were told was that Roan had been deeply involved with the American secret arming of the Mujahideen during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and now that past work had come back to haunt him in some manner. That was too vague. With no image, and no name aside from Roan's, Chuck wasn't flashing. He and Casey had tried to argue that they could not perform a sufficient analysis without further data, but Wagner apologetically said the other evidence had been determined classified. Then the agent had pulled out his precious photos, which was when Casey had lost it.

Well, the situation was what it was, and Chuck would hardly make it better by becoming upset himself. Besides, it was refreshing to see somebody who had such unwavering faith in Roan. He walked back into the conference room, and forced a smile. "I think two can work even better than three," he said, a trifle too jovially. Wagner had set all of his photos out on the table in neat piles. They covered the entire surface. The CIA agent seemed enraptured.

Keeping his eyes on his beloved pictures, Wagner said, "I'm sorry I'm not able to provide you more information about the crime scene, but I think you might be able to learn a lot from looking at the photojournalistic history of the man himself."

Well, either Wagner hadn't noticed Casey's ranting or he didn't care. Chuck grabbed a chair and sat down to scan over the pictures in the event that he might flash on anything. "How...uh, how did you become so interested in Agent Montgomery?

"I did my thesis on him."

Chuck looked up. "They make you do theses in the CIA?"

"I was recruited for a special profiling unit with the purpose of studying agents in the field, finding out what makes the successful ones tick to improve training curriculum. When you join that unit, you're initially assigned one specific subject and the thesis is your end product. I was lucky enough to get Agent Montgomery."

"Cool." Chuck felt himself briefly become fuzzy, as he scanned a picture of Roan with a sultry-looking Brunette and flashed. Immediately he saw the record of a former Soviet spy with whom Roan had a dalliance. Roan had apparently later noted her sexual proclivities in her profile. _Cute. _Chuck shook off the effect and asked, "Did you ever get to meet him?"

"Only once," replied Wagner. "I didn't get a chance to ask him many questions. He took me out to an exclusive bar and proceeded to get intoxicated. He kept trying to, er… get me a girl." Wagner flushed, appearing suddenly uncomfortable. "But hey," the agent brightened, "I understand you actually got to work with him on a mission! What was that like?"

Chuck winced, pushing back a headache. He had just flashed on the photo of an ex-Nazi Roan had taken down in the 80's. "Uh," he focused back on Wagner, "it was great! He drinks a lot, as I'm sure you noticed, but he's one of a kind. A legend."

Wagner nodded approvingly. "Yeah, he is. Decades of experience fighting enemies that would destroy our country. Possibly the most brilliant operative in the history of this nation. Assuming he would actually turn – ridiculous, of course – how could anybody really think he'd be stupid enough to leave all that evidence behind? It's a set-up!"

Chuck smiled. "Fanboy" wasn't entirely off, but having had his share of obsessive interests, he could hardly fault Wagner for his mania. He picked up a photo of a young Roan chatting amicably with another man with long curly black hair, a thick face, and a moustache.

Chuck flashed. Images filled his mind, as did two names, and one of them…

Chuck blinked, and stared at the photo bringing it up closely to his face. He could barely make out the eyes. "Agent Wagner, can you come here for a moment?" Wagner complied and came around to Chuck's side of the table to look at the photo.

"Do you have any idea of who this is?" Chuck asked pointing to the picture of the man with Roan.

Wagner shook his head. "No, I don't know all the subjects that he's encountered. Many of them, but not this one." He pulled the photo from its mylar sleeve, and looked on the back. "January 24, 1977," he read. "Roan would have been thirty at the time."

Chuck did some of his own math in his head. "Can you… Can you excuse me for a moment?"

* * *

The rest of the lunch between Captain Awesome and Orion had gone well, thought Sarah. It seemed clear to her that all Devon had desired was some reassurance about Stephen's priorities toward his children. This, Steve had provided in abundance.

Sarah was glad to hear it too. The more she listened to the elder Bartowski, the more she felt in her gut that he was trustworthy. Beckman had been on a power trip, that was all. Sarah decided that she wouldn't move forward on the General's request, and would renegotiate the discussion if- no, _when_ Beckman recovered. The surveillance she had just done of Orion was all that was necessary.

_And I won't have to lie to Chuck_, she thought, a small smile forming at her lips as she watched Devon and Stephen leave the sandwich shop together.

One of the homeless guys came up to them. "A little money for a bite, Gentlemen?"

Sarah froze. The voice came through clearly via Devon's transmitter. She grabbed her binoculars, and trained them on the three men. Devon was smiling, handing the man a couple of bucks. The beggar's back was to her. She couldn't see his face. She could see Stephen's, though. Stephen's expression was disturbed. He stared at the homeless man for a moment. Stephen reached into his pocket and pulled out a couple of bills himself, which he slipped into the man's hand. Stephen then took Devon by the right arm, leading him away, and saying in a forced tone, "We've got to get you back to your shift, Son."

The man kept his back turned, but called after them, "You're both very kind. Thank you." He then walked into the sandwich shop himself.

Sarah jammed her key into the ignition, and peeled out. She hoped that neither Devon nor Orion would notice her car. She hoped that no attack would come against any Bartowski or Woodcomb in the next few minutes.

She was across the street in less than a minute. She got out of her car and rushed into the restaurant, her eyes scanning frantically. Nothing. She poked her head through both restrooms. No. She ignored the upset voices of the staff as she pushed her way through the employee area, and checked the kitchen, before busting through the back door.

No sign. _Shit, _she thought desperately.

She conducted a radius search. First on foot, then in her car. She kept her ears plugged to the transmitters in case something happened at the hospital.

Finally, she gave it up for loss. The man was gone. She drove back to her parking space in the hospital, her mind buzzing.

That had been Roan Montgomery. She was sure of it. He had tried to make contact with Orion, and Orion knew him. She was sure of that too. She considered calling Stephen on his cellular, but what would she say? What if he didn't tell the truth?

Beckman had asked her to spy on Orion. Beckman was supposedly shot by Roan Montgomery. Roan Montgomery had just tried to contact Orion.

_Roan Montgomery and Orion._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi all! Thanks for continuing to read and review this sucker. **

**Thanks to my wife and Anon for editing. (Anon, in particular, had some strong suggestions this time around.)**

**I don't own the world or characters of Chuck.**

**Let's take an angst dive!  
**

**_________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

After trying to make a phone call and getting only voicemail, Chuck ran upstairs, leaving Wagner down in the Castle to continue mulling over his Roan Montgomery photo collection.

Casey had pulled the shades on the upstairs office and was addressing Gondel on his laptop. Even with their office closed, such communications would normally have taken place in the Castle proper for security reasons, but Casey probably hadn't wanted any chance that Wagner might eavesdrop.

Chuck arrived just in time to hear Colonel Gondel say, "I'm sorry, my boy, but there are some things that are beyond my control as well, and my superiors have deemed most evidence in this case to be classified."

Chuck could tell Casey was using all the patience he could muster to not go off. As it was, he was pushing the line. "If that's the case, Sir, perhaps our efforts should be reallocated. Conducting an investigation when we have virtually nothing-"

"I may have something," Chuck interrupted. Casey snapped his gaze over to Chuck, and his expression wasn't happy. Chuck imagined he was going to get wrung over after this for having left Wagner in the Castle unsupervised. Chuck didn't care.

He moved in front of the screen, daring to almost push Casey out of the way. "Colonel Gondel, does the name 'Brian Shepard' mean anything to you?" Chuck stared at Gondel to see if the man would react. He didn't appear to, other than to appear confused. A glance at Casey showed that his partner didn't seem to recognize the name either.

"It's a common enough name, but I don't know it," said Gondel.

"I believe this man may have been an old associate of Roan Montgomery."

"Well," Gondel said with a harrumph, "I'm sure Agent Montgomery had a lot of associates during his years of service. Still, would you like me to look this man up for you?"

"That would be great, thank you, and uh…. Can you tell me if you happen to find any code names that Brian Shepard was using?"

Gondel then spent the next ten minutes showing that he had never learned to type. Casey used the opportunity to mouth "What are you doing?" to Chuck, who shook his head in response. He didn't want this query to be interrupted.

"Well," said Gondel, "There were a few Brian Shepards who worked in the agency, but only one of them appeared to have some work association with Roan Montgomery. This man appears to have been active in the service until 1979 at which time he resigned his commission and then went off the grid.

_One year before I was born, _thought Chuck. "And… were you able to find a code name attached to him, Sir?"

"Oh yes," said Gondel. "Sorry my boy. That would be Orion."

Chuck heard Casey's teeth click together. "I see," Chuck said tonelessly. It was confirmed: The two names that had come up in his flash – Brian Shepard and Orion. It wasn't a mistake. "Just out of curiosity, Sir, are codenames ever recycled? That is, are they used by more than one person?"

"Not as a rule, no. Usually, different aliases are used, but the code name stays constant. Now that you mention it, though, the name does sound familiar. Where have I heard it before?"

Gondel started paging through various files. Chuck glanced at Casey, who looked even more unhappy if that was possible. If Gondel hadn't actually known of Orion, Chuck was bringing his father back under the government's attention.

His father who apparently had a different name and a different face. Chuck had always thought he had gotten his appearance from his mother, but looking at that photo…… _Bartowski may not even be a real name. _In spite of himself, he started thinking, _Charles Shepard. Charles Irving Shepard. I don't believe this._

"I thought it sounded familiar," said the triumphant voice of Gondel. "It's in General Beckman's most recent program reports. Orion. Right here. There is an Orion currently under surveillance by Agent Walker. Is that why she isn't with you, right now?"

* * *

"He is playing you," said Casey, his voice sounding bored.

After they had signed off with Gondel, Chuck and Casey had quickly wrapped up things with Wagner. The Agent had allowed Chuck to borrow his photos for further study, with the clear understanding that he would protect them and would wash his hands every time before he handled one.

Since then, Chuck had paced from one end of the Castle to the other, trying to process it all.

"He knew about Orion. He knew Orion is your father, and he is playing you."

"Why? Why would he do that?" fumed Chuck.

"Gee, Chuck, I dunno. Maybe he's trying to turn you against your father, your girlfriend, the people you trust, so the government can tighten their control over the Intersect?"

"So, you don't think Sarah and my father are keeping stuff from me?"

"Eh. Wouldn't say that. They probably _are_ keeping stuff from you. Lying to you. The norm."

"Why?" Chuck whined. "Why would they do that?"

"They're spies, Idiot. They do that sort of thing for a living."

But, we just… We just had a conversation where we agreed that we wouldn't lie to each other!"

Casey smirked. "Yeah, that was cute, you trying to rally the troops. I lied when I agreed to that too." He punctuated his sentence with a yawn.

Chuck's mouth dropped open. "WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"

Casey rolled his eyes. "I told you I wouldn't lie, because I didn't want to deal with you whining that we shouldn't lie. With good reason. You're whining." Casey stood up and stretched. "I lie to you Chuck, because sometimes it's what you need, sometimes the truth ain't none of your business, sometimes it's easier, and sometimes it's fun. You lie to your sister, your friends, all those folks."

"I do that because you guys told me to!"

Casey shrugged. "See? We all got reasons."

"That's circular logic!"

Casey shrugged again. "So, you going to get all pathetic and accusatory with Walker?"

Chuck crossed his arms. "Well, I shouldn't have to do that, right, because as you said, Gondel's playing me."

"Yeah."

"He's trying to turn me against Sarah, making me more vulnerable."

"Yeah."

"Which means it's a ruse, and Sarah's not lying or keeping stuff from me."

"Maybe."

"…. I hate you."

"Yeah."

* * *

For the rest of the day, Chuck poured over the photos, and though he flashed multiple times, none of the data he received seemed especially significant. Of course, what the pictures all seemed to be missing was documentation of Roan's business in Afghanistan. He also had looked for another picture of the man who appeared to be his father, but no other shots of Brian Shepard came up.

Every fifteen minutes or so, he would look at his phone and consider calling his father or Sarah. He always stopped himself, realizing that he had no idea what to say to them that wouldn't come across as accusatory. Especially since he didn't know for sure what was true or false.

First there was his father. The Intersect wouldn't lie about Brian Shepard being Orion, and the timing just seemed to dead on. Besides, when he looked at the photo in just the right way, Chuck could imagine seeing something in the eyes. So that was probably true.

Dad had never actually lied to him, he thought, just hadn't told him a whole lot of stuff. Like how he used to have a different face and name. To be fair, Chuck had never asked. Chuck tried to remember in their conversations if he had ever brought up Roan Montgomery. Chuck couldn't remember. He wondered if Roan had known.

This was so confusing.

Then there was Sarah. Gondel had been clearly lying about Sarah. He wouldn't follow-up with explaining why Sarah was supposedly spying on Orion, once he "realized" that Chuck and Casey hadn't been privy to that operation. Yeah, right. Gondel was lying, not Sarah.

Right?

Chuck had asked Casey not to pass on immediately this little revelation, since it was obviously a lie from Gondel to cause dissent, and Chuck didn't want to cause dissent.

Casey agreed, but Chuck wondered if that was also a lie, given that Casey had admitted that he lied to Chuck frequently. Plus, he had probably seen through Chuck's own lie about believing Sarah, and not believing Gondel.

_I'm getting a headache._

If Beckman had been having Orion followed, why had she done that? Dad was out of the biz! Not that that would necessarily have stopped Beckman, but asking Sarah to do the spying would be really cold. And for Sarah to lie about it to Chuck, directly or through omission, would be very upsetting, to put it mildly. Of course, she wasn't lying, and Beckman wasn't having Orion followed because Gondel was just lying about the whole thing. _Don't be played. Trust your girlfriend. _

_I'm really getting a headache. _

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_

Sarah was feeling distinctly uncomfortable.

The events of the afternoon had thrown her, and had pulled her back onto a course she wished to avoid. To make matters worse, Chuck had come home, clearly feeling off. She had asked him if something had happened, but Chuck said he just had a headache from flashing at pictures all day. He didn't want to go into the details though, instead asking about the events of her day.

She talked about the impromptu lunch meeting with Awesome and Orion, telling Chuck that Stephen had appeared to have sufficiently addressed Devon's concerns. Chuck seemed intensely interested in this event. Well, he obviously wanted his family to all get along. She didn't bring up the apparent encounter with Roan, because she didn't want to get into the implications that she would have to investigate.

So after a quiet dinner and some television, Chuck and Sarah agreed to call it an early night.

* * *

Sarah was troubled; Chuck could tell. He was getting better at reading her face and body language, and he would swear that she became tense when talking about his father.

Of course, this could entirely be his imagination. The seed of doubt that Gondel planted.

Perhaps, all he needed to do was to ask her about it. _Sarah, is there something you want to tell me?_

Chuck didn't want to give her a reason to have to lie.

So, he kept quiet while he followed her upstairs to their room. They lay in bed together, reading in silence. He read the same sentence one hundred times wondering if she was doing the same.

He tossed the book on his night table a little bit too hard. It bounced off and hit the floor. He turned around to find Sarah looking at him, a question forming. He scooted himself closer to her.

Silently, he willed his eyes to communicate his love, his trust. He would have sworn that hers said the same.

Holding on to that, desperately, he pulled her lips to his. He turned off his mind and let himself simply feel her. Sometimes, it was like this, Chuck going 0 to 60. In his experience, Sarah would usually be surprised for a split-second. Then, she'd be matching his urgency. As she was doing now. Her kisses were burning his mouth. They were together. They loved and wanted each other. That was all that mattered.

* * *

_Yes. Please._

Chuck pouncing on her, desperately wanting her; Sarah loved it when he got like this. He'd get so worked up and he'd take her with him. The raw feeling it would produce… There was nothing like it for her.

Her hands flew over Chuck's back. She wanted to touch him everywhere, and desired the same from him in return. She had to show him that she loved him. It was true. It was all true. There was no lie here.

_So you're going to make love to him, and then you're going to betray him._

Her body stiffened. Her hands that had been at that moment grasping his hair flew open of their own accord.

Chuck's mouth had been on her neck. She fought off a groan, as he stopped.

_What am I going to say to him?_

He pulled away from her, and met her eyes.

Sarah struggled to bring her breath under control. She had to say something; anything.

"S-sorry, Chuck. I'm…. I'm not…" It was no good. He'd need to know why. He was Chuck. He was going to ask her why.

He smiled at her. No confusion, anger, even frustration. Just his beautiful smile.

"Turn around," he spoke in his warm, soft voice. She met his eyes one more time, before she turned around. He pulled her into his arms, and simply held her. They cuddled like that for a half-hour, Sarah hating herself, loving him.

* * *

She lay in bed for three hours, feigning sleep, listening to Chuck breathe deeply behind her. When she saw the digital clock switch to 1 a.m., she rose quietly. She didn't even need to adjust Chuck's arm. He had rolled over earlier, away from her. For ten minutes, she just stood there, watching him sleep. Then she turned and walked out of their room, down the stairs, and out the back door. Normally, the automatic light would go on at a sign of motion, but she had been able to deactivate it. She didn't want to have to explain herself to Ellie or Devon, much less Chuck.

She walked in her bare feet across the grass to the cottage door, knowing all the while, that this was completely absurd. She was quite aware of Orion's security system. If he had installed all that, he would certainly have put some failsafe locks or alarms on his door. She had to try, though.

To her surprise, she was able to pick the lock and get through the door with no problem. No audio alarms, no flashing lights, no electricity shocking her into submission. Again, she stood still, this time taking in his residence from the illumination of her pen-light.

Well, if she was going to find something, she had best get started. This was going to take awhi-

She froze. The tiniest shadow crossed her path, temporarily breaking the beam of light. Slowly, she turned around and took in the darkened form of Chuck Bartowski outside the door. "Can I come in?" he asked. His voice was sad.

* * *

**A/N: I realize that given the lack of communication in the actual series, this chapter may rub some people raw. Sorry folks. However, I can promise you there shall be resolution, and it won't take MONTHS to achieve! So, if that helps....**


	4. Chapter 4

**All right! Thanks you few, you might few, who read and review! I wanna hear from y'all!**

**Thanks to my wife and Anon for editing. (I will discuss an editing disagreement my wife and I had after this chapter is done.)**

**I do not own Chuck. Nor do I own another property that I poke fun at here. If I did own it, I would be a gazillionaire. I guess I must be bitter. **

* * *

Sarah took in Chuck's hurt face. She let his disappointment wash over her, knowing she deserved it. She stepped backwards, to allow him entry into his father's cottage. He stepped inside. He didn't launch into an attack; didn't say anything at all. Just looked at her. The look was sufficient. Realizing that he was waiting for her to say something, she reached through her mind for anything that might possibly make this better. In the vacuum of ideas that met her, only one thing came up. One extremely _stupid_ thing. She grasped at it in her desperation; it was all she had.

Not believing she was saying this, Sarah put on her most endearing expression and choked out, "I... uh.... I see you."

Chuck opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He obviously hadn't expected her to say that, but to her horror, there was no immediate recognition.

Then it came. His frown changed to a smirk and then he let out a chuckle. Well, she hadn't expected laughter per se, but it was better than hurt. She had been trying to defuse the situation, and she thought she might have succeeded. But then, his smile almost vanished, if not, entirely. "Nice. Nice try, Sarah. But... ah... between you and me, if you're trying to charm me with terms of endearment from genre flicks, I'd suggest you use one where the script didn't suck."

"It was all that I had," she said.

They lapsed into silence again, and his sad expression returned. The pressure was back on her. Having nothing, she decided to address her own questions.

"How did you.... find out? Was it, that I wouldn't…?

Chuck shook his head. "Sarah, if you're not in the mood, I'm not going to push you or force an explanation. As to how I found out: Gondel 'let slip' that you were assigned to spy on Orion. Casey said Gondel was obviously lying in an attempt to weaken the team's bond. I thought that made sense. Then you told me about listening in on Devon and Dad's conversation today, which also wouldn't raise any alarms, normally, because you're assigned to watch Devon. Still, it was quite a coincidence wasn't it? So tonight, I watched you sleep. I love watching you sleep. I've done it so often now, I can tell when you're really out, and when you're not."

Amazing. He had been able to tell that she was faking, and she hadn't been able to do the same for him. Then, he snuck down here and was right on top of her before she had realized it. Whether with the help of the Intersect or not, he was getting very good at his chosen occupation. Either that or she was getting much worse. She felt bitterness rise within her at that, and because in a way, he had set her up for a fall. She pushed down the bile. If he had played her, it was only because she had started the game.

Maybe Chuck was tired of letting her dangle. He said, "I guess I can't complain too much, can I? You didn't technically lie to me. I never actually asked you if you were spying on my father."

She shook her head. "Lies of omission are still lies, Chuck. I'm not going to take that way out, even if you offer it."

"Then tell me why."

"I have no excuse for you, Chuck."

"Tell me why."

"Nothing I say can make what I've done right."

"Tell me." He moved forward and placed his hands on her shoulders.

He didn't understand. She was looking down the precipice of a lost relationship. Since they had gotten together, any mistakes that had happened had been his. She had told him that she wasn't perfect, but although that was certainly true, she had taken comfort in the fact that she had acted the "stronger" one in this relationship. Patient with him. Forgiving of him. Those things were easy, because he was worth it. But now she was at a place where she was at fault, and no matter how many times she might have forgiven him for a perceived slight, she found it much harder to forgive herself, and she was terrified that he would not be able to, either.

So, in the face of his need for explanation, she was paralyzed. Sarah Walker couldn't find her voice.

The voice came before the illumination. "Maybe I can help."

As one, Sarah and Chuck snapped their eyes over to the video monitor on the desk next to them. It had just come to life, and the digitized face of Stephen Bartowski was before them.

* * *

Chuck looked at his father in his Orion persona. The masked voice. The hat. The shades that hid his eyes from view. This was how his father had first approached him after Chuck had gotten the Intersect.

"Dad," Chuck said, trying to keep his voice calm, and probably failing completely.

"Hello, Son. Sarah." Orion looked at Chuck's girlfriend. "I'm a bit surprised at you. Oh, I'm not surprised that you were given this assignment, or that you'd try to follow-through on that assignment. I am surprised that you'd think this was the way to go. Even with the little bit you know about me, you'd know very well that there was no way you could break into my place without me knowing. You'd also know that there's no way I'd leave anything valuable about me accessible in this spot. So the only thing that makes sense to me, Agent Walker, is that you wanted to fail."

Chuck studied Sarah's face for a reaction. Was that true? Had she wanted to be caught? He knew her so well, but sometimes, even he had a hard time reading her. Now was one of those times.

"Dad," said Chuck, "Why does Beckman want you under surveillance? She's paranoid, but she doesn't just allot manpower without a reason. You're out of the business, aren't you?"

It was hard to tell, but Chuck thought he saw the face smile. "If you really thought about it, Charles, you'd know the answer to that. A new house for Ellie. With the best security money could buy. The government gives a good retirement package, but not that good."

Chuck felt himself flush at the tone of condescension. He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice. "What are you doing for the government?"

"I'm building them a new Intersect, of course."

"Dad," moaned Chuck.

"Charles, think about it. I'm the one with the skills and the know-how. Of course they're going to come to me. They're not going to just sit by while you're the only Intersect. By cooperating with them, I can be around my family, make sure they're safe. But for some reason; perhaps, having to do with the fact that I ran from the government for ten years, Beckman didn't entirely trust me. I agreed on paper that her organization could keep an eye on me. I never said I'd make it easy for them, of course. That's where Agent Walker comes in, I believe. I'm just sorry they had to put you through this, Sarah."

Chuck looked at Sarah for confirmation. She nodded, her features miserable.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Chuck asked her. He looked from one loved one to the other. "Why did you both keep me in the dark?"

"It was the only way to get Beckman to agree to let us split the team and spend all the resources we have to keep watch on Ellie and Devon," she replied. "I knew you wouldn't be happy with the compromise. I figured no harm would come from it, because Orion was clean, but..."

She stared at Chuck's Dad, and though she appeared conflicted at first, she said what was on her mind. "I overheard your conversation at lunch today with Devon. On the way out, a homeless man approached you. That was Roan Montgomery."

Chuck's eyes widened. OK, he hadn't seen that one coming. That confirmed it. That confirmed everything.

Orion nodded. "Yes, it was."

"You're Brian Shepard!" Chuck spit out.

The computer graphics made it difficult to tell if Dad was surprised. He did pause, though, before saying, "Yes. I was."

Now it was Sarah's turn to appear confused. "Who's Brian Shepard?"

"Wagner gave me some old photos of Roan Montgomery. I flashed on one from '77 that showed Roan hanging out with Brian Shepard. Shepard had a different face, but his code name was Orion."

"That's right," confirmed his father. "I knew Roan back when we were both starting in the field. We parted ways before I changed my face and name, and temporarily retired to have a family. I hadn't seen him again until yesterday when he came to me. I think he wanted me to help clear his name."

"You knew that he was a suspect in Beckman's shooting and you didn't do anything?" asked Sarah.

"What was I going to do, Sarah? Tackle him in public with Devon right there? I pushed him away; that was the only option I had. I've got new priorities now, and those are my children. I'll tell you this though. I don't believe he's guilty. Roan is a vain man with too much pride. Part of his pride is his patriotism. He sees an attack on this country as an attack on himself."

Chuck hardly heard any of it. "Dad," Chuck said, "You didn't tell me about still working for the government, Brian Shepard, any of it."

"Charles, it was better that you didn't know, for your safety. I kept it from you for your protection."

"Oh, come on!" Chuck began to yell, quieting his voice as Sarah gestured to the main house. It would be no good to wake up Ellie and Devon. "I'm an Agent now, Dad. I was forthcoming to you about what's been happening with me. I deserve the same consideration."

"It doesn't work that way, Charles. Even if I approved of you continuing to work for the government, which you know I don't, your Intersect abilities aren't fully functioning. You need all the protection you can get, be it for your physical or emotional well-being."

"What?" Chuck hissed. "My emotional well-being? What the Hell are you talking about, Dad?"

"The job requires sacrifices and compromises that you shouldn't have to make. That's why Sarah didn't tell you about spying on me. She wanted to protect you from the dirty side of this work."

Chuck turned to Sarah. Her eyes were wide, her emotions absolutely visible on her face for once. Dad had gotten it right.

"Fine," Chuck growled, knowing it was absolutely not fine. "What can you tell us to help Roan, Dad?"

"Charles, I'm not comfortable with-'

"What. Can you tell us. To help Roan. _Dad_?"

"Not much. Roan's time in Afghanistan was after we worked together. After his visit to me yesterday, though, I did a little hacking. I always keep a back door into my employer's databases. Apparently, this picture was on General Beckman's monitor when the shooting happened."

A picture of Roan speaking with an unidentified man materialized on Orion's monitor. Chuck took one look at the man and flashed.

"Thanks," said Chuck a moment later. Then he turned without another word leaving the cottage.

* * *

Sarah watched Chuck walk out of the cottage with nary a word to her. There had been a point in the conversation where she had thought he might have understood, even forgiven her. But then Orion caught the heart of the matter about her need to protect him, and it had obviously struck a poor nerve. She watched him walk through the back door. Not once did he look back to see if she was following.

"Well, Agent Walker," she heard behind her, "You can search my home for anything incriminating, though I assure you, you'll be unsuccessful. Or you can go make up with my son."

She turned her head toward the monitor, feeling ill. "That's it?"

"That's it," said Orion. "I don't have any hard feelings. I know the pressure you're under. I also know that you do what you do to protect Charles. I understand and approve of that."

"Chuck isn't a child," she said. "We should both stop treating him like one."

"No," Orion laughed softly, "He's not a child. He is, however, very much in over his head. Not in his element. He's been trying to force himself to be something he's not, when he'd be better off living a normal life. If I'm not mistaken, I thought that might be something you wanted too."

Sarah frowned, having a hard time believing she was having this conversation with the man whose home she had just broken into. "What we want doesn't matter, Stephen. Sometimes, we step forward to serve. Chuck made that decision. He put the country before himself."

It was hard to tell because of the modulated voice, but she thought she heard something change in Orion's tone.

"He didn't have to do that."

In spite of herself, Sarah smiled. "Of course he didn't _have_ to. He wouldn't be a hero, otherwise. Excuse me, but I think I'm going to take your suggestion on making up with your son."

She turned around and walked out of the cottage. She'd go to Chuck, and do whatever she could to apologize for this. Then, they'd talk about what it was he obviously flashed on. Maybe she could ask Casey to cover Ellie-Devon watch, so she could join Chuck on a mission for once.

After locking the door to the backyard, she slipped silently upstairs. When she got to the room, the lights were out. Had he gone to sleep without talking to her? Well, if he had, she was going to wake him up. She flipped the light switch.

He wasn't in bed, but on his pillow where his head was supposed to be were his GPS watch and his cellular phone. That's when she heard the motor.

She ran to the window just in time to see the car pull away from the curb. Her Porsche.

She nearly jumped out of his skin, when his phone beeped. She rushed over to it, and looked at the screen, only to see a voicemail notification.

She hit the button to start the message and listened.

"Hi Sarah. Sorry, I had to borrow your car without asking you. I stole the spare keys for Ellie and Devon's car too, so you don't come after me. It's just – Bad enough that everyone seems to be lying or keeping stuff from me. It's actually worse when you're doing it for my own 'protection'. I mean, I understand, Sarah, I do. I haven't come through and shown that I can take care of myself. Well, it's time that changed. Please, don't leave Ellie and Devon unguarded. I'll see you later, Sarah."

"Chuck," she whispered.

* * *

**A/N: OK. Am I worried that I'm just ratcheting up the angst, in what is most likely an anti-angst Chuck environment? **

**Am I worried that I've turned Sarah into a wimp? **

**Am I worried that my characters might be completely OOC?**

**Very possibly. But none of those worries can COMPARE to the fear that I could piss off fans of Avatar. Seriously, I liked the movie, sure, but the script was kinda… I mean, "I see you." Please tell me this is not becoming the new romantic line out there. On the other hand, Jim Cameron is a gazillionaire, and I am…. Not. As I said. Bitter. **

**My wife didn't like this bit in my story. Not that she was defending Avatar, she just thought it was a dumb moment. I agree. It is a dumb moment. My goal was to have Sarah do something uncharacteristic (and desperate) to try to cut the tension. Didn't work for her, and the bit may just be distracting to the story (especially due to all the attention I'm drawing to it now). I'm curious what y'all think. **

**Now, you may think that I'm trying to use this to distract from the BIGGER problems of my story. You may be right, and the issues I bring up before the Avatar bit are the real problems. Let's just say, I have an easier time writing Chuck in the wrong. So that may be the problem.**

**OK, now that I'm done shredding my own story, I hope you all liked it, and will come back for more! Hello?**

**Crickets. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi everybody! **

**As always I appreciate those of you who read and review.**

**Thanks to my wife and Anon for editing. Anon prompted me to give a little reminder about how my version of the Intersect 2.0 works with Chuck, versus the one established in canon. In the show, Chuck has only been able to flash when he is in a state of emotional control. In my version, Chuck's emotional state hasn't so much been a factor, but he's only been able to flash on his physical skills when somebody he cares about (so far Sarah, Morgan and Casey) have been in danger. His information flashes haven't been impacted by this. **

**I also want to think Wepdiggy whose Adorable Psycho stories have given joy to so many of us. A little hint of AP's favorite word can be found within. **

**I don't own Chuck!**

**______________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

Her partner picked up the phone on the second ring. "Nnn… Yeah?" From the sound of his voice, she could tell she had awoken him. Well, of course, she had. It was probably almost 2 a.m. by now.

"Casey, we've got a crisis. I need you to get over here. Now."

She heard the Colonel give his usual grunt, then say, "This is all about you 'spying on Orion', right?"

She gritted her teeth for just a second. "Yes."

"Were you actually spying on Orion?"

"Yes."

"Hm. Wasn't sure if Gondel was pulling our leg. I assume the nerd blew a gasket?"

"Get over here, Casey," she growled.

He yawned. "That shouldn't take long. I'm two blocks away."

"I- _Really_?"

"Yeah, I told Bartowski to leave it alone, but knew the chances of _that_ happening. I figured there'd be crying, screaming, maybe some gunplay. Anyway, I'm in my regular spot. Y'need me to drive one of you to a motel?"

"Stay where you are. I'll be right down."

She had already dressed and armed herself to the teeth while on the phone, so she was out the door and next to the Crown Vic in less than two minutes. Casey still seemed to be blinking the sleep out of his eyes.

"So you get the motel, huh? Classy, Bartow-"

"Shut up," said Sarah. "Chuck's gone. He must have driven right by you."

That did the trick. Her partner was fully alert now. "What?" he hissed.

"He flashed on some evidence tying into Roan, and he's going to deal with it, himself. He stole my Porsche _and_ the keys to Ellie and Devon's car."

Surprisingly, Casey didn't make any snarky comments about not knowing that Chuck had Grand Theft Auto in him. Instead, he opened the passenger door and said, "Get in. Let's go get him."

"We don't know where he's gone, Casey! He left his GPS watch and his cell phone behind."

Casey didn't even flinch. "Then, it's a good thing a have a secret GPS in your Porsche, isn't it?"

Sarah blinked. Then she said, "Get out of your car."

"Aw, c'mon, you're gonna make an issue of it, _now_?"

"No, but somebody needs to stick around and keep an eye on Ellie and Devon."

"Wait a minute, Walker, the Intersect takes priority."

"We are not leaving Ellie and Devon unguarded. Get out of the car, Casey."

"Then, you should be guarding them, and I should go after Chuck. You're comp-" He stopped short, obviously seeing the violent change in her eyes when he began the word. "You live here. I don't."

She tossed him the house key. "You got drunk, and took a cab ride here. We let you in without waking everybody up. We left early for work, and let you sleep."

Casey crossed his arms. "No way, Walker. And don't give me your wounded puppy look, either. That worked once. Once."

This was ridiculous. The more they argued; the farther away Chuck was getting into likely danger. The correct thing to do was to let Casey go after him.

She had no interest in the correct thing to do.

She leaned into the passenger door, locked eyes with the Colonel, and said in her coldest voice, "Do it, or I force you to hear everything about my sex life with Chuck in _detail_."

Even in the dark she could see the man's face drain. "You… wouldn't possibly-"

"Let me tell you about Chuck's mighty pl-"

"NO!" Except for when he sang a high-C to unlock a puzzle, Sarah had never heard her partner's voice at the octave he had just produced.

He jerked out of the Vic and tossed her his car key, almost appearing petulant. "If you hurt my car-"

She caught the key. "I'll buy you a new one." Then she was driving, not bothering to glance at the Colonel's receding form.

* * *

"Protect me," Chuck muttered under his breath, as he neared his destination. "Protect me. Lie to me. Same difference? Yeah."

Dad, Sarah, even Casey were doing it for his own good. He was pissed as hell, but what right did he have to be, really? For him to be angry was for him to be a hypocrite. His sister and best friend would attest to that, if Chuck hadn't kept lying to them for their own protection.

Perhaps, if he were in a different mindset, he'd deal with this issue by going to Ellie and Morgan and spilling everything. He didn't though, because he knew the value of the lie.

That pissed him off even more.

He couldn't correct the wrong to Ellie and Morgan, but he could man up so his loved ones in the know wouldn't have to lie to protect _him_ anymore.

He parked the car a half-mile away, and jogged in. The location was another abandoned office building. Bad guys just _loved_ the abandoned office buildings. Good value during a poor economy. No lights, of course. He used the darkness to his advantage and shimmied across the ground to the front door. He wasn't surprised to find it locked.

He pulled out Sarah's lock picks, which he had also stolen. He was most familiar with them, as they were the ones he always used for his practice. And he had practiced a lot, considering that the Intersect had never activated to automatically provide him with this skill.

He stared at the lock. _OK, Chuck, now's the time to flash, when it's NOT an immediate danger situation. You can do this. You flashed intentionally with the original Intersect. You can do the same with this one. _He crouched there for five minutes, trying to relax, while also trying to keep his ears alert for any sudden sounds.

Nothing was happening. _OK, maybe if I actually start working on the lock. _He began, meticulous and careful. It had taken him multiple sessions to not drop the tools, but his hands were steady now. It was still taking too long. _Flash, _he kept thinking to himself_. _Nothing.

He breathed out, ignoring the sweat that was forming on him. He had to hurry.

_OK, fallback strategy. Sarah is behind that door. Her life is in danger. If you do not flash right now, and open up that door, Sarah is going to be hurt. No. Sarah is going to die. You need to do this to protect her. To save her. _He began to work back on the lock. No flash.

Chuck stopped. Closed his eyes. Let his body relax. He pictured Sarah. He let her image fill him as it so often did. Then he imagined, she was behind the door. He imagined there were men approaching her. They had guns which they were raising toward her. She was calling for him, asking for him to save her.

He opened his eyes. No flash. It had been a useless exercise. The Sarah he knew would never ask him to save her. She'd always be trying to protect _him_. There was no point in trying to imagine Sarah behind the-

The door suddenly opened.

It wasn't Sarah.

* * *

The Intersect didn't have the recent data that the bad guy had recruited mercs. A lot of mercs. He spotted two on his short walk through the building, but when he arrived at his potentially final destination, there were five of them in there.

The mercenaries looked to be of various ethnicities. He flashed on each one. Mostly civilians with violent criminal records. There were a couple of ex-military though. Guys with dishonorable discharges. All Americans. Cute.

They shoved him into a chair in the center of the room, but didn't bother to tie him. After all, there was only the one door he had come through, and no windows.

_Chuck, you've taken on this number of guys before, and these are thugs, they're not even trained like the Ring guys are. You can do this. You can-_

The bad guy walked into the room. His arms were hidden within a trench coat. He was in his early 60's. Afghani.

The man wasn't one to waste time. He barely glanced at Chuck before saying, "It's earlier in the morning, Sir. May I help you?"

Hm. Polite. He wasn't used to that from his villains. "Ah yes, I was wondering if you've seen Roan Montgomery lately?"

The man raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Oh? You're a friend of Roan's?"

"I am," said Chuck.

"So am I."

"I know."

The Afghani's smile widened. "Oh, you know me! You must be one of those fine CIA folk. Did you see the picture I sent your woman, Beckman?"

Chuck frowned. "That's General Beckman."

The man ignored him. "Not the best photo ever taken of me, I'm afraid, but alas, the only one in which I shared a conversation with my friend, Roan Montgomery. At least, on _this_ soil. So, how much do you actually know of me, Mister…?"

"Carmichael," Chuck rattled off, crisply. He might not be able to flash, but at least he could be in his character's confident zone. "Charles Carmichael." He paused. "You're Asa Noor, former warlord for the Mujahedeen. Roan Montgomery provided you weapons and training in the 1980's."

Noor nodded with enthusiasm. "Roan and I spent a great deal of time with each other. Became fast friends. I called him a brother."

Chuck frowned. "Then, after the Soviets were driven out, you joined the Taliban training camps. In 1998, you tried to get into the U.S. You couldn't do it legally, so Roan helped smuggle you in."

"He was still a good friend at the time," said Noor.

"Had he realized you were going to help arrange the arrival of two guys who would participate in the 9/11 attack?"

At this, Noor stopped smiling. The five mercs who were around him, looked at each other, their eyes widening. Good. Chuck could use that.

"No," said Noor. "Roan _didn't_ know that, initially. As far as I knew, none of your people knew that. Except for your woman General. I gave her enough so she could figure it out on her own. I didn't expect her to let her underlings know though."

Chuck turned his gaze away from Noor to shout, "Hey! You guys are helping a 9/11 TERRORIST! You're Americans, so _do_ something about it!"

The five looked at each other, looked at Noor, then back at Chuck.

"Aw, C'mon!" shouted Chuck. "NONE of you?"

One of the thugs shrugged and said, "He pays us good."

Noor smiled and said, "I adore mercenaries."

Chuck rolled his eyes in disgust. He glared back at Noor. "So, why'd you send your little message to the General?"

"As I told you, Roan and I were great friends. He helped me get here, no questions asked. However, when he later learned about my involvement, he was less than understanding. In fact," Noor moved his shoulders up so his trench coat slipped off and fell to the floor, "Roan tried to split ties, entirely."

"Oh," Chuck squeaked. Another piece of information that hadn't been in the Intersect: Asa Noor's right arm was severed at the shoulder.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Thanks everybody for reading and reviewing.**

**Thanks to my wife and Anon for editing.**

**I do not own Chuck. Or any one-armed man. **

* * *

Staring at the point where Asa Noor's right shoulder ended, and his arm was _supposed_ to start, Chuck became rattled, so much so that he spit out the first thing that entered his mind.

"Whoa, that's cool." _I did not just say that._

Noor stared at him, and replied in a flat voice, "I'm sorry?"

"You're a one-armed man." _Shut up. Shut up!_

"Yeeeeeeesssss?"

"Well, it's just that one-armed men have a special place in American entertainment. Have you ever seen Twin Peaks? Or the Fugitive!" _Oh my God. I've been possessed by Morgan._

Noor frowned at Chuck for a moment. Then he laughed. "You know, I've seen those! I rented Twin Peaks on Netflix. And the Fugitive was a birthday present from Max, here." Noor jerked his head toward a particularly burly blond mercenary who smiled so Chuck could see his broken teeth. "Those are very good," said Noor, "but have you seen the One-Armed Swordsman?"

"No, what's that?"

"It's a late 1960's Hong Kong film. It's a classic."

"Oh! Well, I'll have to rent that one. Thanks!"

"You're welcome," said Noor. "Though personally, I think a one-eyed man is more cool than a one-armed man." He looked at Chuck significantly.

"Oh?" Chuck's voice had a tremble that definitely did not fit with his Carmichael confidence.

"Yes," said Noor. "Have you not heard of Nick Fury? One-eyed man. Very cool."

Chuck was starting to sweat. "I think that's more because Samuel L. Jackson plays him. He's cool in everything he does, and he usually has two eyes."

All five of the mercenaries nodded in agreement, one saying, "That is the truth." Noor turned and gave them a disgusted look. "Excuse me, but I'm trying to intimidate a prisoner." The mercs quieted down immediately, except for Max who asked, "Should I get a scalpel for his eye boss?"

Chuck felt all the saliva in his mouth vanish.

Noor considered Chuck for a moment. "Mmmmm, no. We have a shortage of surgical instruments and I'm focused on using those for Roan."

_Oh thank God. Wait. Roan? He's using surgical instruments on Roan?_

Noor rubbed his chin softly. "Just rough him up to see if he has any more information of value, then shoot him. Mr. Carmichael, it's been a pleasure discussing entertainment with you, but I have to focus on my revenge. I advise you tell what you know, so you'll have less pain before you die. Goodbye."

"But…." Chuck stammered, "But wait! Don't you want to talk about the music scene?"

No good. Noor didn't even glance backwards as he walked out of the room. Chuck saw that four of the five mercs were pulling out handguns. "Um..." said Chuck, "Don't you have to torture me for info first?"

Big blond Max was the only one who hadn't pulled his gun. He walked up, said "Don't worry about it," and then sent his fist smashing into Chuck's gut.

* * *

The two goons had been marveling over the gorgeous Porsche when Sarah crept up on them and took them out. Sports cars distract thugs. Sarah would have to remember that. Usually she was the one doing the distracting.

_Idiots. _ Mooning over a car when they should have been guarding the perimeter. Sarah prayed that this was an indication of the average intelligence of the people she was facing. Unfortunately, she couldn't count on that. She'd have to approach cautiously, when her instincts cried for her to rush in blasting to save Chuck.

_Just hold on a little longer. Please Chuck. I'm on my way._

Never taking her eyes off the dark building ahead of her, Sarah began moving forward.

* * *

"Ow! I hurt my knuckles!" cried out, Max, who had diversified in his choices of where to give Chuck pain. "Must've hit a bone, or something."

Chuck could vouch for that. The merc had punched the lower part of his collarbone. Chuck was fairly certain that the man's wrist pain was nothing compared to what Chuck was feeling.

He was in trouble. Sure, he hadn't been able to flash before without someone he cared for being in danger, but he had always imagined that when the big moment came, he'd be able to save himself.

No go. He wanted to live, and he took his likely death here very seriously, but nothing was happening. He thought about Roan being tortured, but either he needed to see it happening, or he just didn't care enough about Agent Montgomery. He thought about his country. He had chosen to take on the Intersect for his country. If he were to die now, he wouldn't be able to protect it.

Nothing.

"Look, he's not even payin' attention," complained one of the unnamed thugs. "HEY!" Max grabbed Chucks jaw and turned it sharply. "You gotta pay attention when we're torturin' ya!"

"Sorry," Chuck mumbled, trying to ignore the taste of blood in his mouth.

"Lissen," said Max. "Why don't you tell us what you know? I don't want to hurt my hand again."

"OK," said Chuck, "What do you want to know?"

The thugs looked at each other. Then they looked back at Chuck. "We want to know," said Max, "what you know."

"Um… you gotta be more specific," said Chuck. "Do you have any specific questions to ask me?"

They looked at each other again. Then, back at Chuck.

Chuck asked, "Look, do you want to go and ask Mr. Noor what specific info he needs from me? I'll wait."

The four with guns seemed to be considering that. Then, Max pulled out his own firearm. "We shouldn't bother the boss when he's cutting." He cocked the pistol and pointed it at Chuck. "Tell us what you know now, or we start blastin' off one piece at a time. Maybe we'll flip a coin to decide if you lose your arm or eye first."

Great. Five dumb mercs with guns pointed at him. Chuck couldn't flash. He couldn't help being pissed. Sure, he got himself in this dumb mess, but if only people didn't keep lying to him….

He closed his eyes. _I know you just did it to protect me, Sarah. I'm sorry. I understand; I've always wanted to protect you too._

Then it happened. The images of his past came to him, much like they had before he had chosen to upload the Intersect. These were more recent, from one night. They were all of her speaking to him.

_All I ask is that you find a way to get the Intersect to protect yourself._

_Your death would kill me. It would __kill __me._

_I know you would die for me, and while I appreciate that, Chuck, I want you to live for me, more._

_I love you, Chuck._

From somewhere way off, Chuck heard a voice say, "Aw, he's not paying attention again! To hell with it, just shoot him."

Chuck's eyes snapped open.

He smiled.

* * *

Sarah yanked her knife out of the latest goon's throat and let his lifeless corpse slide down the wall.

Under normal circumstances, she'd have considered this a rather easy run. This group was disorganized. They didn't have good communications with each other, so rather than face them en masse; she'd been able to pick them off one by one.

She hadn't found Chuck yet, though, and these encounters were only distracting her. She still didn't know how many of these guys were left. If she called out, that would be the end of her element of surprise, and worse, if they had Chuck, they might use her appearance as an excuse to kill him.

_If they haven't already. _She shoved the thought away. It just wasn't helpful right now.

She needed to be calm, to be-

The sound of multiple guns firing shocked her from her thoughts. Guns…. and screams.

Forgetting caution, Sarah ran. She ran toward the sound, praying. Chuck had to be alive. She made it up a stairwell into a new hallway, and saw the open door, just in time to hear the last gun shot go silent and hear the sound of a thud.

Ignoring a painful pounding in her heart, Sarah raced forward, flipped through the door, and landed in a crouch, her gun out and pointing at-

At……..

He was standing among the fallen forms of five huge mercenaries. Their guns were scattered to all corners of the room. Each one was unconscious.

Sarah nearly lost her balance. She stood up with effort. Her hand with the gun falling limp to her side.

Chuck seemed to snap out of whatever trance he went into when the Intersect took him over. He turned, and saw her. She couldn't read his expression.

Numbly, she said, "Casey is taking care of Ellie and Devon. I didn't leave them alone."

His expression unchanging, he cleared the distance between them in two steps and pulled her to him. Then he was kissing her. She was kissing back. It didn't matter where they were, what was around them, what truths or lies had been told or not. All that mattered was right here. Chuck was alive. He was with her, and nothing else mat-

He pulled his lips away, leaving her trying to catch her breath.

Chuck gave her a rueful grin and said, "Sorry we don't have time for makeup sex, but we've gotta find Roan and the bad guy."

* * *

They walked out into the hall together, just in time to see three mercs apiece charge from either side of them. These ones either didn't have any guns, or they were too stupid to try and use them. Chuck couldn't tell. He was too busy flashing.

The Intersect was so amazing in that he could perform these incredible feats of martial arts while at the same time, almost viewing the scene as a neutral observer. What he was watching now wasn't so much the bad guys he was pummeling.

It was Sarah.

He was fighting alongside Sarah for the first time in his life, and it felt so right. This wasn't why he had chosen the Intersect, but at that moment, Chuck couldn't help feeling joy that this was possible.

For her part, Sarah appeared too busy taking care of her goons to be paying excessive attention to what Chuck was doing, but at one point, in the space of a second, her eyes met his. He thought she was using that brief time to check on him. Apparently satisfied that he was doing fine, she returned to her opponents.

The whole fight was over in less than 30 seconds.

Chuck and Sarah stood back-to-back over six more unconscious foes. Slowly, they each turned around facing each other. Before they could say anything though, a scream pierced the air.

"Roan," breathed Sarah. "This way." Chuck followed her toward the direction where the sound came from.

They were racing around the corner of one hallway, when Chuck heard a sound, which caused him to grab the back of Sarah's jacket and pull… hard. Where she had just been, machine-gun fire flew past and embedded into the wall.

"Excuse me!" shouted Asa Noor. "I am not done with my vengeance yet. I've only taken Roan's shooting arm!"

Sarah glanced at Chuck, a question in her eyes. He muttered, "That's the main bad guy. Kinda has an Ahab complex."

Noor kept shouting. He didn't sound like he was coming closer, but probably just to make sure they took him seriously, he would periodically let off another machine gun burst into the corner.

Chuck watched Sarah pull out her gun, and start to load the empty chambers. "What are you planning?" he asked.

She said, "I'm going to wait until he lets go with the next burst, dive into the corner, and shoot him." Chuck saw her get into a crouch.

"Wait a minute. Let me do it." He pulled out a gun that he had taken from one of the thugs in the first room. Neither he nor the Intersect had thought to use it in the second fight.

"Put that away," Sarah whispered harshly.

"But I can wing him!"

"So can I, Chuck, and you shouldn't take the risk if I'm here."

"Yeah, but I've got the Intersect."

"Which is why you shouldn't do it! What, now that you have the Intersect working for you in combat, you've got to be macho or something?"

"I'm just saying that you've gotten to shoot a lot more people than I have. I deserve a turn."

"You'll get plenty of turns, Chuck. I'm supposed to be protecting you."

"That's funny, I think I should be protecting you."

At that moment, another burst of fire hit the corner. As one, Chuck and Sarah dove into the hall, and both raised their firearms.

Asa Noor was standing down the hall, his machine gun, pointed to the ground and almost swaying from his fingers. Noor's eyes appeared glassy. What appeared to be a large scalpel jutted from his neck. The Afghani teetered there for a moment, then fell forward.

Roan Montgomery stood behind him. The agent was holding a soaked scarlet cloth to the shoulder where his arm should have been.

Roan looked up at them and said, "He was… my best friend… for years. Didn't know that I'm…. ambidextrous."

Then Roan fell forward to collapse on top of the body of his ex-friend.

* * *

**In case you couldn't recall the flashed conversation above, it came from the final chapter of Chuck Vs. the Childproof Safety Locks.**

**The other thing I wanted to mention was the similarity between a scene here and that in Chuck Vs. the Beard. (In both, Chuck struggles to flash until a switch is flipped, he smiles, then proceeds to take out the bad guys with ease.) I did have this scene planned in advance, but I don't expect anybody to believe me. This is why I want to finish my S3 first before the actual one is finished. I'm planning a big-bang ending. They're planning a big-bang ending. If our big-bang endings are at all similar, I want mine to get out first, so it doesn't look like I stole from them. I think it is fairly clear that nobody is stealing from me. :)  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi all! Well, after posting the uh… interesting diversion that was "Sarah Vs. the Three Words" yesterday, I am back on track with the second to last chapter in Lies of Omission. Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed this puppy.**

**Thanks to Anon and my wife for editing!**

**I do not own anything or anybody in the Chuck U.**

* * *

At 6 a.m., Chuck got the phone call he'd been dreading.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Chuck. Sounds like you had a busy night."

"Hi Ellie. Are you mad?"

"No. I would have been very mad if I was the one who found John lying on our couch this morning. I've had enough scares to last me awhile. Devon got up first though. Did you know my husband screams like a girl? It's kinda cute."

Chuck winced. He just knew that Awesome was going to have sharp words for him later.

"Ellie, I'm sorry. John showed up drunk in the middle of the night. I didn't want to wake you-"

"Chuck," Ellie interrupted, "Don't sweat it. John explained everything. He told us you and Sarah had to go in to cover an early business meeting for him. You were there for your friend. I'm proud of you."

Chuck breathed out a sigh of relief. "Thanks Ellie."

"No problem. Besides, he's a much better guest than Jeff. I can't even smell the alcohol on him. We're going to have some breakfast, then we'll drop him off downtown on the way to the hospital."

Chuck thought it was a good thing he had lied to Sarah about stealing Ellie and Devon's car keys. "That's great, Ellie, thanks again. I'll see you later?"

"Absolutely. Oh, by the way, Dad sent an e-mail stating that he's going to be back a bit later than planned, but he'll be here tomorrow. Devon and I have it off, so maybe all of us can have dinner?"

"Sounds great, El. Love you."

"Love you too."

_Well, that's one potential crisis averted. _Chuck steeled himself, then walked back into the hospital room.

Roan Montgomery was sitting up in bed. He'd been awake for a half-hour. That had been sufficient time for a CIA representative named Wilson to come in and inform Roan that he was under arrest for a number of charges, not the least of which included treason and attempted murder.

That aside, and in spite of the horrific loss of one of his arms, Roan appeared to be in a pleasant mood. "Ah! Charles. Just the man I was hoping to see."

"Hello Roan." Chuck tried to form a smile. He couldn't.

Sarah exchanged glances with Chuck. He didn't know what was going through her mind. They hadn't a chance to talk since Roan's collapse. Between getting Roan to the hospital via ambulance, transporting both the Porsche and Vic here, and the multiple interviews with various authorities, there hadn't been the opportunity. That would need to change soon, but not just yet.

"Agent Walker," said Roan, "I haven't had a martini since I went on the run, and Asa Noor wouldn't allow me one during my torture. There is an excellent liquor store just down the block. Would you be so kind as to smuggle in the ingredients?"

Sarah shook her head. "I can't, Roan. I'm sorry."

Roan gave his devil-may-care grin. "Now, now, Agent Walker. Of course you can. You're a spy. And besides, one drink is all I'll really need for my confession."

Sarah looked at Chuck again. _She's asking me? Ah, what the hell. _Chuck nodded. Without another word, Sarah stood up and walked out. Chuck sat down in the chair she vacated, saying nothing. For the 20 minutes until she returned, Roan just stared at him. The older agent continued to smile.

When she came back, Chuck started to help to prepare the martini. Roan waved him away with his one hand. "I'll have to get used to doing this by myself, Charles. Might as well start now." Roan never spilled. He drank his alcohol through a plastic cup Sarah had brought.

After he was done, Roan, said, "Thank you."

"I'll go get Wilson," Sarah said.

"No thank you, Agent Walker. I'll get to Wilson, I promise. I'd like to confess to Charles, first, if you don't mind."

Sarah looked at Chuck uncertainly. Chuck was feeling uncertain himself, but nodded again. Sarah whispered, "All right." Then she left the room, leaving Chuck and Roan alone.

"Why are you choosing to tell _me_, Roan?"

"Because Charles, if only for a very brief time, you helped me feel like a hero again. That is a gift for which I cannot thank you enough."

What was Chuck supposed to say to that? "And now, I'm the guy who helped bring you in."

"True," Roan sighed. "True. You could have helped me escape. You still can. I know you would do absolutely anything for those you care about, no matter the consequences. You're like your father that way."

Chuck felt his blood run cold. "I'm not helping you escape, Roan. And we're not talking about my father."

Roan appeared genuinely disappointed. "I see. Well, it was worth a try. You would like to know about my great treason, I take it?" When Chuck nodded, Roan said, "There are very few friends in this business. You treasure the ones you find. More than women. More than drink. Your father was a friend to me. Sorry Charles," Roan said as Chuck flinched, "but that's true. Asa Noor was another friend. This was when the United States was secretly helping the Afghanis against the Soviets."

"The people we help today sometimes become our enemies tomorrow," Chuck muttered.

Roan smirked. "So eloquent, Charles. So very eloquent for a beginner, and while I recognize in you the potential for incredible greatness as a spy, you _are_ a beginner, Charles. What you just said... try it in practice, sometime. Try seeing the face of your friend, Colonel Casey, perhaps, as the man who is going to betray you a year, 10 years, or 20 years from now."

"Casey would never do that."

"And you've made my point. I had absolute esteem in Asa Noor. Not only did I see him as a friend to me, I thought he was a friend to my country. After all, we armed and trained his people. Friendship can blind."

"Still, to smuggle him illegally into this country-"

"I repeat my belief that you would do anything for those you care about. You'll have other friends Charles. Like me, friends from other countries. And if those friends call on you, will you be so quick to turn away? To not break the rules for them?"

Chuck couldn't think of a retort, so instead, he pushed onward. "So what happened?"

"I'm sure you know what happened. Asa did his part to bring about our national disaster. Almost nobody in the government ever heard about his role, but I became suspicious, and I found out. I tracked him down to kill him. I thought I had. While we were struggling, I actually chopped his arm off. I should have made sure he was dead."

"You didn't tell anyone."

"No. I'd spent decades protecting this country that I loved, and my mistake helped cost thousands of lives. I wasn't about to tell anybody. I went off the grid, and proceeded to start drinking in earnest."

"Until we brought you back in," said Chuck. Roan just looked at him, and said nothing to that.

"You... the evidence shows that you shot General Beckman." He looked at Roan, and to his astonishment, found himself thinking, _Lie to me if you have to, but please, don't tell me-_

"That's because I did," said Roan, his voice completely flat. "I hadn't planned to. She found out what I had done, and she confronted me. I panicked, pulled my gun. I wasn't sure if I was going to fire, but I aimed for the chest, knowing that she always wears a bullet-proof vest. But she grabbed my arm and struggled. Diane is much stronger than she looks, and I'd just been out an entire evening drinking. The gun went off, and General Beckman...." He shook his head.

"She was a good woman."

Chuck gritted his teeth. "Is that all you can say? You were living with her! And you just ran, leaving your weapon behind?"

Roan smiled grimly, "I ran, because as I said, I panicked. I didn't leave the weapon behind though. That, I thought I had disposed of. But somehow it got back to the room. Something to think about, Charles."

"What are you talking about, Roan?"

"Nothing, Charles, nothing. I'm guilty. And I know it doesn't seem like it, but I do feel remorse. For Diane. For the people I've let down, especially you."

"You should include an agent named Wendell Wagner on that list. He was a big fan of yours. Thought you could do nothing wrong. Do you remember him?"

Chuck thought he saw a strange glint form in Roan's eyes, but the man shook his head, and said, "I'm afraid not. If you see him again, please extend my apologies."

Chuck stood up. "I'm going. You're going to tell all this to the actual authorities?"

Roan nodded, "I will. There's just one more thing before you go, Charles."

"What's that?"

"Your father-"

"No, I told you I don't want to-"

"Your father cares about you and your sister more than anything else in the world, Charles, and he will go to _any_ lengths to protect you both."

"I know," said Chuck impatiently, walking toward the door.

"Did you know he was having me spy on your team?"

Chuck stopped short and just stared at Roan.

"Did you know he was having me spy on General Beckman?"

* * *

Chuck walked from the room, feeling cold. Sarah was waiting. So was Wilson and a guard.

Chuck nodded to them, and said, "He's ready to confess to you now. Do you need us anymore?"

"No," said Wilson. "You and Agent Walker are free to go. She's already sent in her report to Colonel Gondel. I think we're covered."

Chuck nodded and he and Sarah walked together down the hall. Away from Roan.

"Do you want to talk about it, Chuck?" asked Sarah as they walked out into the new day.

"He confessed," said Chuck. "He committed treason. He shot Beckman."

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry your trust was betrayed like that." She took a deep breath and then added, "And I'm sorry for betraying you too. I know what I did was unforgivable."

Chuck looked at her, and thought about what she kept from him. Then, he thought about what he was keeping from her right now.

"Not too long ago," said Chuck," I said that something I had done to you was unforgivable. You said that wasn't for me to decide. It works both ways, Sarah. Apology accepted." He smiled with effort, then stepped in and pulled her into a hug.

They stood there like that for awhile, then Sarah said, "So, you flashed without having to protect anybody else but yourself."

Chuck looked at her.

Sarah looked down. "You don't need to protect me… and I don't have to protect… you." Her voice seemed brittle, somehow.

Chuck smiled, and this time, it wasn't forced at all. "I flashed, Sarah, because you were there."

Appearing confused, Sarah said, "I didn't show up until after you flashed."

"Doesn't matter, Sarah. You could be thousands of miles away and it wouldn't matter. You'd still be protecting me. You were protecting me, because I knew you wanted me to live. No matter what problems we have; lies, any of that. I know you love me, and I'm not about to let you down."

He looked into Sarah's eyes. "Wow," she said.

"What's that?"

"Well, it's just… you thought, 'I see you' was corny, but that…"

Chuck stood shocked for a moment, "Did you just compare my outpouring of emotion to a bad _Avatar_ line?"

Sarah laughed. "I'm afraid I just did."

"Well, what am I supposed to say to that?"

Sarah leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. "Probably, 'I love you'?"

Chuck returned her kiss. "I love you, Sarah."

"I love you, Chuck."

They stood by the car, their kisses intensifying, until Sarah broke free, and said "Uh…. Make up sex?"

Chuck smiled and said, "I think we just have enough time."

* * *

**A/N: I thought my ending to this chapter was possibly too corny, but both of my editors liked it. I'm curious what y'all think. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi everybody! OK, this is the final chapter in this arc before I do my S3 endgame. **

**Thanks to all of you who have read this thing, especially to those of you who review!**

**As always, thanks to my wife and Anon for editing excellence.**

**I don't own Roan Montgomery, and I think we're all happy for that.**

**_____________________________________________________________________________________________________  
**

Making up properly had taken some time. Given that, and the fact that they had stayed up all the previous evening, Chuck and Sarah had every intention of sleeping through the day. They had successfully done so for more than three hours before Chuck's cellular rang.

Chuck ignored it through two sets of rings, until during the third; Sarah muttered that if he didn't get it, the phone would suffer a very sharp demise. Not especially wishing to shop for a new cell phone, Chuck begrudgingly picked it up. The screen indicated an unknown number.

"Hello?" he mumbled.

"Hello Charles. I wanted to follow-up from last night."

Chuck closed his eyes. He did not want to deal with this right now, not with Sarah right next to him. "Dad, we found Roan. He's alive and safe." _He's lost an arm, not to mention that he's under arrest for a bunch of things, including shooting the General you apparently had him spying._ "I don't want to go into details. It's been a long night and Sarah and I need to sleep in."

"Good. You made up. I'm glad to hear that, Charles. You two belong together and I don't want to be an obstacle. I'm going to be back tomorrow."

"Yeah. Ellie told me."

"Well, then could we take some time to talk then? I think we have a lot to talk about."

_Understatement of my life. _"Yeah Dad. We'll talk tomorrow. I'll see you then."

Chuck hung up and turned. Sarah's eyes were open. She appeared nervous. "Chuck, if you need me to leave so you can talk to him, now…."

Chuck pulled her close to him, and smiled. "Not a chance. He's coming back tomorrow. We'll talk then. It's overdue. But today… Today is just you and me."

"Mmmmmm…" She began to nuzzle his neck. "I'm happy with that. Besides," she said, while simultaneously doing something which caused him to suddenly inhale, "We still have to make up some more."

* * *

Stephen sat considering the phone for a bit. Charles wasn't happy with him, but… well, that wasn't going to get any better. In fact, it was going to get a lot worse.

Events had proceeded faster than he had imagined they would. He would have liked to have stuck around longer. He enjoyed being with his family.

_After tomorrow, Chuck will probably hate me. _Stephen bowed his head, feeling the painful weight of the loneliness his choices had brought him. But between loneliness and a miserable life for his boy, he'd pick loneliness every time. He opened his laptop, and activated the usual security measures. He made the connection.

"Are we ready to proceed?" He typed.

"Yes," came the reply, shortly. "The meeting spot is confirmed. The participants are mostly mid-level, but a select few are high. Very high. I still think we should wait for an even bigger target. This strike won't kill the Ring."

"No," acknowledged Stephen. "But it will hurt them. More than they've ever been hurt before I think. We're not going to pass this up. The time is now. When you and I are back on the run, they'll come after us. They won't be able to ignore this challenge. They'll come after us, and we'll rip them apart."

There was a pause before, "Acknowledged."

"Something else. I'm going to be sending some old friends after you, so I can complete necessary business."

"That could be a problem," replied Vincent.

"Not at all. I'm going to send them after you, but to the other side of the City. That'll give time for both of us to slip away, once it's done."

"Understood. I'll see you tomorrow, Orion."

"Tomorrow."

* * *

Colonel Stuart Gondel sat by the comatose form of General Diane Beckman while he listened to the reports of his subordinates.

It was hard to keep track of everything they were saying. That agent, Montgomery; that was his name, had been captured, of course. The necessary paperwork had been completed to have a man escort him to custody. Forms were waved in Gondel's face and he signed them without looking at the pages.

Afterwards, he told the young men, whose names he had forgotten that they had done good work. They stared at him for a moment, trying to see something, he thought. Then they left.

Gondel took a deep breath. This was getting out of hand. They all seemed to think he was playing a grand trick on them. Pretending to be… the way he was for some grand Machiavellian scheme.

He had tried to explain to his superiors that he wasn't trying to play any tricks. They would usually answer by promoting him. At this rate, he just might make General before he died.

Gondel glared at the unconscious form before him. _This is what happens to generals. _He closed his eyes, trying to keep his anxiety in check.

_Dear General Beckman, please wake up_. _I don't know how many more days I can do this. _

Beckman didn't respond, so gradually, Gondel stood up, and steeled himself to make it through the rest of the day. Then, he'd worry about tomorrow.

* * *

Roan Montgomery sat in his hospital bed, watching a syndicated comedy called Night Court, and wishing he was drunk. It wasn't so much the pain from his forced amputation. The emotional agony dwarfed that. Tomorrow, he'd be formally incarcerated, and it would hardly matter. No more martinis. No more women. Just time to reflect on his sins, until a hopefully violent death.

Wilson stepped in. Wilson had no personality. He was followed by somebody who did. The new man saluted to Wilson. "Thank you for the fine service. I'm ready to take over now." Wilson saluted in return, and didn't bother saying goodbye to Roan as he walked out the door.

The new man smiled at Roan. "Would you like a drink?"

Roan wanted to scream. He wanted to take his IV and plunge it into the man's neck in much the same way as he had ended Asa yesterday. Instead, he said, "Yes, please."

Wendell Wagner prepared the martini just the way Roan liked it. He let Roan drink it in silence. Wagner kept smiling. Wagner was _always_ smiling.

Roan savored the martini for as long as he could, then he placed the glass on his bed side table. He took the remote, and silenced the television. "Are you here to kill me, Wendell?"

Wagner actually had the gall to act confused. "Why would I want to do that?"

"My secret is out. You can't hold it over me anymore. So I have no reason to help you, anymore. I'm useless. I assume you'd want to kill me."

The bastard smiled again. "Agent Montgomery, you'll never be useless in my eyes. Honestly, for years you've provided us with wonderful information." He paused. "We just needed to remind you where your best interests lie. Remind you who you are."

"Charles Bartowski did that." growled Roan.

Wagner shook his head. "He reminded you of who you _were_. Important distinction."

Roan tried to look away from that self-satisfied grin. "You certainly wasted a lot of resources to teach me a lesson."

"It wasn't just to teach you a lesson," Wagner almost cooed. "You took General Beckman out of the picture. Granted, we would have been much happier if you'd killed her, but we can't have everything. Well, we _will_ have everything. We just need to be a bit more patient. Now, let's talk about what more you can do for us."

Roan shook his head. "Wendell, I told you before. I'm caught. Why would I help you now? You directed Asa Noor to me." Wendell nodded, nonchalantly. Roan went on. "I'm sure you were the ones who put my gun back in the room after I thought I'd disposed of it."

Wendell put his hand up. "Stop right there, Agent Montgomery. I'll cop to anything we've actually done, but I need to set the record straight. We had nothing to do with that gun turning up."

"Then who did?"

"Well, let's see," said Wendell, appearing to think hard. "It might just be a man with secrets that he needed to keep hidden. A man that would do anything to promote his own selfish agenda. A man who acted like your friend, and then left you for the wolves. Do you know of such a man?"

Roan swallowed. "I don't believe you."

Wendell shrugged. "Your perogative, Agent Montgomery; however, I just want to point out: After you acting as his spy for all this time, don't you find it a bit painful that he didn't come to your aid in your greatest time of need?" Wagner paused to let that sink in, then he said, "Whereas, I…. I'm going to come through for you. I'm the agent in charge of your transfer. I can see that you are never incarcerated. That you're free as a bird. Free to drink your beloved martinis. Free to get revenge. All you have to do is agree. Come now, Agent Montgomery, wouldn't this be a better world without Orion in it?"

Roan considered his options. "I'm in," he said in a defeated voice.

"My hero," said Wagner.

"When is this going to happen?" asked Roan.

Wagner gave his widest grin yet.

"Tomorrow."

* * *

**Afficted S3 to be concluded in Chuck Vs. Tomorrow**

**A/N: Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I love ya! Tomorrow! EVERYBODY! Um.... Hello? If you also want to make fun of this chapter, do "One Day More" from Les Miz, placing the various characters above into the appropriate roles.  
**

** Ayefah sent me a great review of the prior chapter in regard to Roan. I wanted to share with y'all my response. (I realized after the fact that I accidentally spoiled her on this chapter. Oops.) **

"**Of all the different characters who've made brief appearances in Chuck, Roan is probably my favorite. And unlike what I've done to Orion, and especially, Jill (sorry Wep), I feel some guilt for what I've done to Roan's character. I hadn't originally planned it this way, but as my story evolved, this is what came out as making the most sense to me.  
**

**Also, it fit in with my vision of what the Ring is, and what makes it scary. ANYBODY could be in the Ring (or in some cases, such as Roan's, blackmailed into working with them). One of Casey's best soldiers, his previous superior officer in S3, his Sensei (since Fulcrum was a subsidiary of the Ring); they were all bad, and I figured; OK, it can't just be people Casey cares about.  
**

**So, based on that and where my story was going with the Orion arc, this is what happened. I'm personally glad I don't own these characters; as I'd much rather continue to see Roan as a happy-go-lucky, charming, ever-intoxicated Bond parody."**

**Not sure if I mentioned it before, but this was also the first arc in which I created new characters. Gondel and Wendell Wagner. What do you all think of them? I was a little annoyed when the Fitzroy character showed up in S3, because he's a fanboy like Wendell. I liked Fitzroy though. He reminded me of Jonathan from Buffy. As I was explaining to Anon, regarding Wendell, never trust fanboys. We're crazy, and sometimes evil. **


End file.
